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Thursday, 17 December 2009

My Top Twenty Actors

For quite some time, or so I have been told, there was a tag going around in which individuals were asked to name their top twenty actors. The lovely Kate Gabrielle recently posted her list on her blog Silents and Talkies and left the tag open to anyone who "want to jump on the bandwagon." Back in March, Millie posted her list of her top twenty actors on her blog, ClassicForever and asked anyone who hadn't been tagged to consider themselves tagged. Since I have apparently been tagged twice, I thought I would go ahead and present you with my list of my twenty favourite actors of all time. Here I must say I limited the list to movie stars, excluding such actors as Patrick McGoohan, Patrick Macnee, and Ricardo Montalban, whose fame primarily stems from television.

Note: For those of you who are wondering, I intend to eulogise the great Jennifer Jones, who died today at the age of 90, tomorrow. I am rather tired from work at the moment and I want to be in shape to give her the eulogy she so richly deserves.

1. Steve McQueen

Favourite Roles: The Magnificent Seven, The Great Escape, Bullitt

2. Sir Christopher Lee

Favourite Roles: Dracula (1958), The Wicker Man

3. Toshiro Mifune

Favourite Roles: Seven Samurai, The Samurai Trilogy

4. Marcello Mastroianni

Favourite Roles: La Dolce Vita, 8 1/2

5. Boris Karloff

Favourite Roles: Bride of Frankenstein, The Black Cat

6. Humphrey Bogart

Favourite Roles: The Maltese Falcon, Casablanca, The Big Sleep

7. Terence Stamp

Favourite Roles: The Collector, Superman II

8. Clark Gable

Favourite Roles: It Happened One Night, Gone with the Wind

9. Jack Lemmon

Favourite Roles: The Apartment, How to Murder Your Wife

10. Cary Grant

Favourite Roles: Arsenic and Old Lace, North by Northwest

11. Gary Cooper

Favourite Roles: Meet John Doe, High Noon

12. Errol Flynn

Favourite Roles: The Adventures of Robin Hood, The Sea Hawk

13. Gene Kelly

Favourite Roles: An American in Paris, Singin' in the Rain (sorry, girls, I just had to use a picture of him with Cyd...)

14. Randolph Scott

Favourite Roles: The Last of the Mohicans, Ride the High Country

15. Sir Dirk Bogarde

Favourite Roles: Hot Enough for June, The Mind Benders, The "Doctor" Series

16. Jimmy Stewart

Favourite Roles: It's a Wonderful Life, Harvey

17. Leslie Howard

Favourite Roles: The Scarlet Pimpernel, Pygmalion

18. Tyrone Power

Favourite Roles: The Mark of Zorro, The Black Swan

19. Vincent Price

Favourite Roles: Laura, The Abominable Dr. Phibes

20. John Wayne

Favourite Roles: McClintock!, True Grit

Here I must state that absolutely no bias played a role in my choices. It is entirely a coincidence that two of the actors are named "Terence" and two are from Missouri....If you haven't done this list yet, then consider yourself tagged.

Harley, I couldn't resist that picture of Gene and Cyd. I always loved her.

Millie, didn't have peacemaking so much in mind as I like both Dirk and Ty. I don't think one can love Swinging London movies without like Dirk or one can love swashbucklers without liking Ty!

I always call him "Sir Dirk" for the same reason I always call Christopher Lee "Sir Christopher Lee." The Anglophile in me feels the need to recognise knighthood. :-) Anyway, I think if you ever watched The Black Swan, you might change your mind about Ty!

I just want to tell you that I just found your blog site and will be returning often. I have been researching who died this year and you have done a marvelous job of keeping up with everyone. Thank you!! Smilee